Quest for an International Standard Measure: The History of Metrication

The History Guy looks at weights, measures and the history of metrication. The two-hundred-year quest for an international standard measure is history that deserves to be remembered.
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The episode is intended for educational purposes. All events are presented within historical context.
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[@joelmacdonald6994]

Funny thing. I’m Canadian, so we have a really strange hybrid of the two. We weigh ourselves in pounds, we measure put hight in feet/inches. We drive in metric, and we buy our groceries in metric(and yet I still buy coffee as a 454g bag, which equals a pound). The metric system is truly superior, but I’m also a machinist. As such, I love and hate metric. Metric is so much more simple, and yet all my measurement tools are in imperial. I hate working in metric units because I have to make the conversion every time. All the machines I run and all the tools I use are imperial. As much as I do acknowledge that metric is better, but I couldn’t tell you my height or weight in metric without using a calculator. It’s rather comical when you thing about it.

[@LadyEowyn]

That's it right there. I don't think in metric. That's why I use the US system most of the time.

[@lookoutforchris]

Same in the US and the UK, officially metric but practically mixed.

[@MrKYost]

Don't forget, we also advertise our produce & meat prices per pound (but the fine print & receipt sells it to us in kg)

[@jonathonshanecrawford1840]

Interesting, here down under (Australia & New Zealand) 99% is all metric, sometimes we export to the USA, however, we label stuff like this 25g (1oz) or 500mL (285 Fl Oz). *_Aren't we nice to you Americans?_* (Sorry about the conversions, I always used metric)

[@alphagt62]

There is only one way to go metric, and that’s head first. Unless all your measuring tools are in metric, it’s hardly worth it. I recall them attempting to teach the metric system in school in the late 60’s, and if was clear to me they had no intention of it catching on.

[@Tadesan]

"My car gets fifty rods to the hog's head and that's the way I like it!" -Abe Simpson

[@wingsofwrath4647]

That one always struck me as particularly clever, because it's not only lampooning the US' resistance to metrication but also the terrible fuel economy of US cars... After all, fifty rods to the hogshead means roughly 250 m (275 yards) for 159 L (42 US gallons) of fuel, assuming he uses "hogshead" as a rather archaic term for an unit still in wide use know as the "oil barrel". Of course, he could also be referring to the actual unit called a hogshead, which is 300 L (79 US gal), but that one is used exclusively for alcoholic beverages such as wine or ale.

[@Markle2k]

Abe's car gets worse mileage than a supertanker. A hogshead is 238 or 250 liters for wine/beer, respectively. A rod is just over 5 meters.

[@taun856]

I always like using Furlongs Per Fortnight...

[@CitizenSnips69]

Drive out of your car hole, shift into H, (slaps car) and she’ll get 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

1 rod = 25 links 100 links = 1 chain 1 chain = 66 feet 50 rods = 825 feet

[@ThatBrunetteYouTube]

According to my first grade teacher, the United States will be on the metric system by 1980.

[@brianspencer6397]

You must be heartbroken to find that teachers aren't always correct!

[@bobvogel5398]

"The Metric Conversion Act is an Act of Congress that U.S. President Gerald Ford signed into law on December 23, 1975. It declared the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities." (Wikipedia)- It was the law, but voluntary. Half way doesn't get you there. One big set of opponents were the unions, who demanded that they be provided with all new metric tools if we went metric. These days everyone has both sets of tools, because products are half and half.

[@ThatBrunetteYouTube]

@@bobvogel5398 first grade was a long time ago... Government scientists joke that the United States is moving to the metric system inch by inch.

[@marvindoolin1340]

I was teaching jr. high math in central Illinois back then, and it was hard to imagine that we wouldn't adopt such a simple and easily understood system. What I got from parents, though. probably explained why their kids didn't go for it. "It's just too hard!" When they tried to help their kids with the problems, they wanted to translate to US standards, then back to metric, and it was always off by at least a little. They just couldn't seem to come to terms with the idea of thinking in metric terms by themselves despite the fact that we frequently estimate in US terms. Kids will use any excuse to avoid learning something new, even if it means agreeing with parents. (Yeah. Not always)

[@wrinkledm]

Endlessly watching the adventures of METRIC man in the late 70's

[@martin_mue]

The silliness boggles my mind.

[@-oiiio-3993]

We are a profoundly silly people.

[@jeffreynunya4716]

From now on whenever someone asks me why Americans haven't adopted the metric system yet, I'm going to say "because pirates"

[@flagmichael]

Arr, ye swab! Be sure and mention it on International Talk Like a Pirate day, September 19 (which falls between the months of Fructidor and Vendémiaire in the French Republican calendar and can be either Fête du travail or Fête du génie). Hmm... maybe this is a clue why we are in no hurry to adopt the French Republican system of weights and measures.

[@NefariousKoel]

Frankly we didn't need to switch. Already had a system that works just fine, pirates or no.

[@flagmichael]

@@NefariousKoel But the pirates make it cool!

[@therogueadmiral]

Same.

[@TonboIV]

American's already use the metric system, and don't know it. An Inch is defined to be exactly 25.4mm. They're using metric units and then putting them through a conversion to make them harder to use and incompatible with everyone else.

[@bea9077w]

I still remember bumper stickers during the proposed metrication of the US auto industry: "We're going metric - every inch of the way!"

[@mos233389]

Forget the content, I love the tone, style and passion of your delivery. Don’t stop History Guy.

[@davidlogansr8007]

No! Never Forget the Content, it Deserves to Be Remembered!!!!

[@warrenwilson7836]

Somehow you missed what for me is the greatest benefit of the metric system - just as clarifying as using base-10 math for all calculations: the mathematical unification of measures of mass, volume and length.

[@kramsc1]

I was taught imperial measures when I first went to school but then our country (Australia) introduced the metric system and I learnt metric. It made learning so much easier not having to remember how many feet to the mile etc. Basically if a system is easier to learn then go with that system, in the long run everyone is much better off.

[@Adrian-vd8rm]

False

[@cbman4767]

I totally agree with you. A good example is temperature if water has a thin layer of ice on it it is 0c and when water starts to boil at sea level it is 100c.

[@4rtie]

Why? Learning is only the start. I prefer greater divisibility and twelve has more factors than ten.

[@seanseoltoir]

If you can't remember the handful of simple conversion factors in Imperial or US customary units, then you are probably going to have trouble remembering "do you want fries with that order"...

[@xr6lad]

@@4rtiewell the world proves you wrong doesn’t it. What system does 3/4 of the world use with no issues? Why is the USA currency metric and not the old £ shillings and pence non metric. Do you think a dollar made up of 78 cents would make sense? But apparently you think measurements like that do.

[@berryearth951]

Love your show. Here is an interesting fact: in 1996 I was a draftsman for the county engineering office in Mississippi. That year the state mandated that we would build all of our roads using the metric system. So for 12 months we redesigned all of our blueprints into metric. At the end, we sent the plans out to be bid on by contractors but they all refused. So for the next 12 months we put both us customary and metric. At the end of that year we gave up and returned to us customary alone.

[@toddmaki2959]

I have a similar story. I am a surveyor and in 1998 I did construction staking for a major highway project in Wisconsin. The plans were in metric. I staked out a huge concrete culvert and wrote something like "Cut 0.828 to culvert invert" on the wood stake. They installed the culvert but instead of cutting 0.828 meters, they cut 0.828 feet. Luckily the Engineer determined the culvert would still flow properly. But I was "sweating it" for a minute until I found out that I didn't make a mistake. But after that I made sure to write "meters" on my stakes. Now I believe all highway plans in Wisconsin are back to customary units.

[@ShroomKeppie]

Ada says hi.

[@ronwood9084]

In the 90’s, I was an engineer for an electric company. The state of Indiana required that all state highway permits be submitted in metric units. So, I had to make an identical set of prints for the permit. The prints for the job remained in US Standard. This continued until I left that job.

[@SurfBigg]

I know this is an old video but I wanted to comment. This video was insightful. I've never thought about it from the perspective that the citizens abroad were forced to switch to Metric by their governments. It makes sense for there to be 1 international standard of measurements. Our gradual metrication is still happening around us. If we started posting speed limits in both MPH and KM/H people that would see KM/H and start to associate the numbers with their respective MPH speeds. Plus, it could help foreigners better understand their speeds. I remember a story about an American who was on vacation in Canada and drove 120 MPH because he allegedly forget the speeds were posted in KM/H. So he essentially was nearly double the posted speed limit. Keep up the good work History Guy!

[@WildWestGal]

... because doesn't every good story involve pirates? THG, you're the best, love this channel!

[@astrodiver1]

Thanks for this. As a kid in the 70's we were taught the metric system and I specifically remember the math teacher who was a nun, telling us that we needed to learn this because by the time we were adults, all of the U.S. would be using the metric system!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Me too, All they did was shrink a bottle of whisky.

[@astrodiver1]

Those Bastards! LoL

[@sgt2dog]

I was going to 3rd grade in California, about 1959-60 school year and we were introduced to the metric system, and each year they built on that premise. I think that with the death of our manned space program we retreated from that mind concept in our daily lives. Miles per hour, gallons and so on, as you said we became a two unit of measurement in our American life. I very much approve of this gradual change. I have lived in many countries over the years, and no matter what when I'm given a distance I must convert that distance into "good Ole Miles", Mr. Wilson. Denise.....

[@astrodiver1]

When friends from other countries besides the U.S. visit and the ask how far or deep something is, I like to describe it in Kilometers and Meters, they always thank me for that.

[@jeffbangle4710]

At least in my school district, the teachers did a horrible job explaining the advantages of the metric system. It wasn't until I studied physics and engineering in college that I learned to love how much easier most calculations were using metric measures.

[@garryperrin2408]

Your summation to the question you keep asking, why hasn’t the US changed over to metric, is excellent!

[@RonJohn63]

0:17 Props for not saying "Imperial units"!

[@davepratt9909]

By the way, the US Military is on entirely on the metric system. The physical fitness tests still require runs measured in miles and the height / weight tables are still in feet/inches and pounds. Funny the dark corners where tradition lives on.

[@benalias5766]

Also aviation, including US military aviation, is generally in feet and knots.

[@billelkins994]

US military uses metric because all other countries in NATO can only divide by 10.

[@billelkins994]

@Gunther H.G. Geick Yes it is rather amusing. American President John Kennedy said "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win." That being said I suspect there may have been a few metric calculations used in getting there. Two men who changed the world in their own lifetime are Englishman John Harrison and American Ottmar Mergenthaler. Neither used the metric system. Admittedly Ottmar might have wanted to use metric but he had moved to the land of opportunity. I am going to my kitchen to brew 3/4 of a gallon of tea, better known as 3 quarts. If it turns out to be 3 liters of tea I'll not be too upset.

[@ShroomKeppie]

@@billelkins994 If you look at the old NASA programs they used to get to the Moon, they were all in feet and miles. I don't think the metric system had darkened their door yet.

[@TonyWhite22351]

@ Dave Pratt Your statement proves that you have no concept of the definition of the word ENTIRELY !

[@leemaxwell1912]

I admire your pronunciations: Consistently precise. I have yet to view a video I haven't enjoyed and appreciated. Keep up your good work.

[@darylcheshire1618]

He pronounces the “a” in “measure”.

[@RealLuckless]

There is also the chicken and egg issue on whether or not people are using Metric or the US Standard - In Canada, where we've "been metric" for decades we still build our houses using feet and inches. Why? Because all of our materials are cut to Customary units, in part because that is what the builders here use and because the mills that supply our building supply stores also typically export to the US. No builder here is going to buy 240x120cm sheets of plywood, because all of their plans and existing buildings were done up expecting 8x4' stock material. Almost no one has metric tape measures, because materials aren't in metric so few have a reason to work with them, and it is the rare skilled tradesman who has experience working to metric standards for construction. No mill is going to retool their setup to produce material to the metric standard when no builder would buy the materials that come out of it, which then loops back to few if any builders having enough experience to even want metric unit stock material to begin with.

[@Jake12220]

RealLuckless here is australia we have also been metric for decades, our builders do use metric and though they complained at first it worked out well after awhile. We do and forever will though use pints and schooners for beer, beer is far too important in Australia for any politician to mess with. We also generally measure large amounts of land in acres of hectares, but small city blocks in square metres and peoples hight is generally quoted in feet and inches yet it's always officially recorded in centimetres so yeah we are metric, but not completely so.

[@icebob8555]

Road signs confuse me in Canada I takes longer to get places there haha

[@acchaladka]

Ice Bob I drive in both countries and can confirm that the superior universal system of measurement is podcasts. Chicago to Montréal is about fourteen podcasts long, for example.

[@trevorkirby3781]

In the UK I can buy 3 metres of 2" x 4". So the cross section is refered to in imperial but the length in metric. For DIY projects I regularly use whichever measure is most convenient. If the gap is 40" I'll use inches, if it's 40 CM I'll use metric.

[@icebob8555]

Trevor Kirby we also use metric when convenient here in the USA the one thing confounds me is wrenches we gotta buy two sets auto industry should just do it question did UK have imperial gallons of milk that’s a gig jug

[@JanMWilson]

"They have turned our gallons into litres our yards into metres but they will not touch the English sausage" Jim Hacker.

[@almostfm]

aka the "emulsified high-fat offal tube"

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

Because it used horse meat

[@Dinitroflurbenzol]

@@user-ky6vw5up9m thats not a unique feature - horse sausages are sold in Nürnberg (germany)

[@jarmokankaanpaa6528]

I wouldn't touch an English banger with a ten foot pole. Give me a good metric German wurst any day. Preferably with British beer, though.

[@Zorglub1966]

@@Dinitroflurbenzol Yes, it is true, as a matter of fact Wagner wrote an opera called The Saugages Masters of Nürnberg.

[@glennso47]

If you give someone a millimeter they’ll want a kilometer!😁

[@mrtodd3620]

I remember an attempt at a switch, or at least an introduction in the 60s, and it went down like a lead balloon.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Every time one uses a U.S. Cent or Dime, one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@Lee-70ish]

Great stuff HG. Metrication is logical . It's easy for kids to learn. However the UK metrication was ok for measurements but they did decimalisation also and the changes to 100 pence to the pound meant the half pence was done away with and you guessed it. All prices got rounded up none went down. It made millions for companies.

[@Adrian-vd8rm]

lmaoooooo

[@gregorydraghici8955]

The History Guy, you forgot Canada's switch to the metric system which was done by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (PM Justin Trudeau's father) in the late 1970s. While our road signs and measurements of products we buy changed, many industries did not take the change. As an engineer I always find it interesting which companies switched and which did not. We still buy our lumber in imperial units, and buildings are usually designed using the imperial system, but our building code is all metric. This is why I consider Canada now fluent in both measurements systems. There are also many examples of the imperial measurement just converted over, like pipe sizes which are all still imperial based.

[@clintdavis9511]

I bet pipe sizing is fun with inner and outer diameters, different materials are different thickness, etc.

[@keithlarsen7557]

I remember learning the metric system in school (1990's-2000's), and it wasn't that we were going to the metric system, but that we needed to know it for science. Years later, I'm working as a scientist, and it turned out to be true.

[@HotelPapa100]

You don't NEED metric to do science, but it sure as heck is a whole lot easier.

[@rcrxjlb]

In Texas, everything is either a handfull or a shitload...

[@sollows44]

Up here, north of the tee line, we've integrated those two systems: many times we work with handfuls of shit.

[@alpham777]

It’s amazing how anyone in America can tell me one of those measurements and I honestly can perfectly picture the size of said handfull or shitload without seeing it first. I think the rest of the world should adopt this system since it is obviously the best. Imagine at NASA uh well sir how much payload capacity does the new SLS support, NASA rep, A Gatdamn shitload man can probably put 20 Volkswagens in orbit with that shit. That’s another popular American measurement as well the Volkswagen it encompasses weight and size not always at the same time.

[@anthonyv3732]

alpham777 LMAO!!!!

[@somebloke3869]

We also have a metric shitload, much like a regular shitload, but in metric.

[@benn454]

@@somebloke3869 Not to be confused with the metric shit ton.

[@DoomerONE]

Truth be told I will admit the idea of an episode on the system of measurement initially didn't sound exciting. But as is always the case you sir have taken something forgotten and made it interesting. I could not stop watching. Thank you again for a fascinating video.

[@bobg1685]

JAS Aerial Exactly. I, too, felt the subject was going to be dry, but I found it to be very interesting.

[@gdaytrees4728]

Great video, worth watching for sure. Irons my hatred toward the Metric system even further. Shit system rammed down our throats by tyrants

[@macjonte]

I hope that you realize the importance of using a unified system after watched this video, doesn't really matter who invented it. It's logical, easy to relate to and everyone except US is using it. Stop spamming internet and media with something no one else besides your country using. World is larger than the US. And isn't chinas economy larger than the US by now? A communist country, not even a union! ;)

[@bobg1685]

John Eriksson We put men on the moon. We're big enough, and the world knows it.

[@macjonte]

You're big enough to have your own measurement system? That's quite.. ignorant.

[@grolfe3210]

Great episode. ThanksHere in the UK we buy a pint of beer while wine and spirits are in metric measures. We buy gas for the car by the litre but measure how much the car uses in miles per gallon.I re-covered a chair and the fabric was sold to me as being 2 metres long and 54 inches wide. Schools changed to metric in 1970 here but as families here tend to still use old imperial measurements and so many people forget the metric system in daily use at home.

[@raulv04]

I'm a former football official in Mexico, and just thinking that 10 meters are required for a first down is inconceivable. I mean, I live in a metric country and have used metric all my life, and still, I find it hard to think of football as a "game of centimeters" instead of a "game of inches". I guess it all boils down to personal preference. This channel is a jewel! Cheers from Mexico.

[@VGF80]

I guess Metric units are a lot less catchy than imperial units. I mean when was the last time you heard the word "metre" used in a song, I've heard "miles", "feet" and "inches" in most songs, poetry, and other writings. But "Kilometres"? Not so much.

[@bobg1685]

"Ten yards to get a first down." Love it! Great episode.

[@RandomTheories]

i dont get it...is that reference from american footbal?

[@JoachimLarsen101]

Back in the days: Old lady enters grocery shop. “I would like a pound of coffee”. “Well, mam, now we are supposed to use “kilogram”. “Very well, then I would like a pound of kilogram.”

[@stephanesonneville]

The pound is still in use in the metric system but rounded to 0.5 kg, not far from the "real" pound of 0.455 kg. Mainly use by elderly people for things sold in bulk on the marketplace like groceries, butter and coffee.

[@pologamero2648]

@@stephanesonneville some time ago some people tell use metrical system was stupid, they asked how can ask for a quarter of milk? Are you gonna ask for 0.94 liters? They dont know than in the rest of the world you buy milk in 1 liter and for any practical use its very close to a qt.

[@scottfeaver5885]

A pound of coffee became 355 grams (12 ounces) for the same price as a pound because of relabeling. Isn't the metric system great!

[@pologamero2648]

@@scottfeaver5885 but 1 pound are 454g, if they sold with less than a pound is another problem.

[@JimFortune]

@@pologamero2648 That was his point. They used the confusion to downsize.

[@adamkoch3424]

"What'd we loot?" "A kilogram" "A kilogram of what?" :P

[@misfire88]

Underrated comment

[@larrypesek8818]

Awesome subject... Back in the 70's, I remember my Dad asking me what I wanted for my 13th birthday... I told him I wanted a metric socket set from Sears. He was surprised that I wanted a metric set as he was a last generation mechanic and I told him in the future, we were "Going Metric" like the rest of the world! LOL. (I still have and use that set BTW)

[@1pcfred]

Hex sockets are worthless today. Now it is all Torx fasteners. Metric was just a scam to get mechanics to buy a whole other set of tools.

[@isilder]

Of course you still have the metric set.. it gets little use ? You've needed a lot of SAE ?

[@51WCDodge]

I run a pair of US 1944 Dodges and a number of premetric Land Rovers. You reckon you have problems with tool sizes? :-) The only useful one is that a US quart of oil is close enough to a litre not to worry.

[@keithlarsen7557]

@@1pcfred As a Toyota driver, I disagree. Them "Foreen" cars are all metric.

[@1pcfred]

@@keithlarsen7557 junk it and get a real car.

[@lightbox617]

" I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" 1930's popular song

[@spconrad9612]

A hug around the neck and a barrel n a heap. A barrel n a heap n I'm losin lots of sleep over you.

[@bobrees4363]

Actually there is a very good reason a bushel of corn weighs 56 pounds while a bushel of oats weighs 38: the bushel is a volume measurement.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Yes, and it has been standardized as a weight measurement. But that still makes it difficult.

[@allanrichardson1468]

The bushel is intrinsically a volume measurement, but the volume occupied by discrete pieces of a product which is not composed of rectangular blocks (like cartons) varies with packing. So for each commodity, the bushel is defined by the average weight (actually, mass) of each one of a number of bushel baskets of that commodity. Oats pack tighter than corn on the cob!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Allan Richardson but commodities do not move in baskets. As the bushel has become notional, all we have is the weights. And, thus, we still have multiple different “bushels.”

[@allanrichardson1468]

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered Exactly! Back in preindustrial times, the customary “dry volume” units were carried in baskets of various sizes. But the volume measures weren’t precise enough for modern industry, so virtual bushels were defined for different products by weight. My favorite units for “measurement trivia” are the Biblical kings used to measure large quantities of wine. A Nebuchadnezzar can throw a really big party!

[@PerspectiveEngineer]

It's 2 square feet I reckon if I recall correctly...

[@armedrealtorakasheepdog6914]

You know what they say... "An ounce of prevention is worth a kilo of success'

[@jimcaufman2328]

A little over 40 years ago we (the U.S.) were going to convert to the metric system. Road signs had both as did speedometers. Packaging for dry and liquids were double marked too. THEN IT HAPPENED!!! President Regan said his mother would not know how much coffee she was buying or if she was being cheated if we switched, so he canceled the conversion to the metric system in the U.S. I saw it live on T.V.

[@kiereluurs1243]

It's called 'backwardness'. Literally.

[@NPrinceling]

In the UK, if someone asks you how much you weigh, you reply in stone, not kilograms. In the Netherlands, they still colloquially (like at a market) use the "pond," which is 500 grams. Thanks for the video!

[@NPrinceling]

Maybe it's a brabant thing. People often advertise by the "pond" at market.

[@7bombarie]

"Pond"(500 g) en "ons" (100 g) are stille often used as weight units in cheese, vegetables and meat. "Mud" (100 l or 70 kg) has been used until recently as unit for coal and potatoes. Herring was measured in "last" (1926 kg, later standardized to 1000 kg), divided in 14 or 17 "kantjes".

[@brouwerk1]

It's sort of half a kilo-gram, older weight standards used the "Pond" but that could be 460 to 500+ grams..... One of those "ponds" being the Troois Pond (492,16gr). After that there was a local version of the metric system that defined 1 Dutch Pond as 1000gr.... Later conforming to international standards the Pond came back in use as unofficial measure of 500gr weight.

[@Mugofbrown]

I´ve had people ask me what they weigh in stone, I just tell them that I haven´t used that measurement for about 30 years. I can visualise kilos far easier. 1 litre of water is 1 kilo therefore if someone weights 90kg they are 45 of those 2 litre bottles of water that you get in the shops.

[@buggerall]

@Charlie K Ask a Dutch women that just gave birth. She will tell you her baby's weight in pond. I'm from The Netherlands and I have never heard a mother do otherwise.

[@IndependentLiberty]

THIS GUY. You're one of my favorite presenters ever. Thanks for another few minutes of education. :)

[@tacitdionysus3220]

Excellent, as usual. I was educated in Australia during the Imperial to metric (or MKS or SI) changes, so I'm happy to work in either; although I'm glad not to have need to cope with weird things like 'poundals'. Some of the changeovers (not all of them strictly metrification) were very impressively done. When we went to decimal currency (14 Feb 1966) the equivalent coins were mostly similar in size and shape, and persisted for many years. But, non-decimal bank notes disappeared almost completely on the changeover date. In the change from mph to kph in speed signs; all the speed signs had a 'metric twin' installed beside it in the lead up to the change, with a cover placed over them. Overnight, all the new signs were uncovered and most of the old signs were not only covered up, but completely gone within a few days. In a place the size of Australia that was quite a feat. The hardest conversion for me was Fahrenheit to Celsius. For a while I had to convert it in my head to get a 'feel' for the temperature that was forecast for the next day. That is, until a little 'ditty' was mentioned: "The cold singles, the cool teens, the temperate twenties, the torrid thirties and the fierce forties". From then on it became easy to directly understand. A few things have persisted in the old units though. Even today, babies and fish sound much more impressive in pounds than in kilograms.

[@lowfatedes]

Yes, I'm Australian, and I love the metric system, but there are a lot of measurements that are still good to use in imperial, such as heights and lengths in feet and inches, and birth weight in pounds

[@heartproblems2727]

As a surveyor this episode hits home. Most of my job is conversions from feet and inches to feet and tenths...don't get me started on chains, rods and links...😀

[@Zenkai76]

Yeah, I hate that I have to use feet and inches at my job, especially when doing math. So much easier to add mm than adding 4'-5 5/8" + 3'-9 1/4" Most of the time I convert everything to decimal and do it that way.

[@heyyou5189]

My company figured out few could read a ruler. They started mandatory classes to correct this. This was a complete waste since all blueprints were in tenths and not fractions.

[@ShroomKeppie]

I think I did catch our gracious host saying "square acres" one time, but I don't remember where.

[@HotelPapa100]

As an outsider it appears that half the weird length and area units used in 'customary' are used (were created for) only in surveying.

[@Absaalookemensch]

I had to learn the Avoirdupois system in college (Healthcare Science). The medical community breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was no longer accepted for use.

[@flagmichael]

I talked with my wife, a retired nurse, about metric measures a few minutes ago. She said it never mattered to her at all. Pharmacists have to deal with dosages but for nurses it is a matter of accepting the amounts. A patient's weight can be pounds or kg and it is all the same: the scale is calibrated for the units so there is no risk of conversion errors. My weight, when I go to a doctor, is always in pounds. Smart nurses avoid calculations when possible - the worst sort of error (decimal error) almost always occurs when calculating. Reading tables is the safe way to go.

[@Absaalookemensch]

I worked transcontinental and transoceanic Life Flight and medical humanitarian missions, constantly dealing with foreign healthcare professionals and medical facilities. Most places I worked did not have pharmacy. In the back of a cargo transport, you are it. Lab, pharmacy, everything. Tables and charts are vital, but we did not always have them. A bag gets misplaced by someone and now you have to adapt. This is why calculations were double checked by someone else. A crew member can do math verification.

[@morrisghill]

Fascinating. And whatever the measure -- metric or other -- you need precisely-calibrated measuring tools to mass-produce truly interchangeable parts. Starting in the 1890's, a Swedish machinist named Johansson made so-called Jo-blocks for precision calibration. Henry Ford moved Johansson's operation to Dearborn in the 1920's, using Jo-blocks in his own factories, and selling them to other manufacturers. So, Ford mass-produced both precision parts and the calibration standards needed for precision.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Every time one uses a U.S. Cent or Dime, one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@onlyhurtsonce9222]

The freedom to choose, I kinda like the way that sounds!

[@-oiiio-3993]

You don't use dimes? Every time one uses a U.S. Cent or Dime, one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@mathe868]

In 1975 the US Congress adopted the Metric Conversion Act. For many Americans counting to 10 is difficult, let alone switching to Metric System SI measures.

[@jmfa57]

Fascinating! I remember back in the 1980s, all the old machinists at the company I worked at swore they weren't going to purchase new metric tools, nor were our supplies going to give us sheet metal in metric thicknesses, etc. The engineers really didn't seem to care one way or the other, but no one ever listens to them anyway. Great video!

[@throne1797]

In the 50s in engineering school, we used the US starndard (almost). When I taught engineering in universities in the 70s we worked in metric( almost). I still have problems converting pounds force to Neswtons and pounds per sqare inch to pascals. But most of the industray (including the Brits) still loves the british thermal unit (BTU) instead of joules. [1 joule = 0.000095 BTU].

[@focusfrenzy9759]

Another fascinating topic. Still baffled why you don’t have a million subscribers. Best channel on KZbin

[@flagmichael]

I think it is too new to have a million yet, but I don't doubt it is coming.

[@jimbeckert7946]

I'm an engineer. I'm fluent in metric and US units. It's all arbitrary. The meter is as arbitrary as the foot. Feet and inches can and are often measured in decimals as well. Computers make conversion for trade trivial. Anyway, good job showing pictures of Japan in the discussion about China.

[@annebradley6086]

Holy crap, I binged almost all day on The History Guy channel.

[@LeCharles07]

"It comes in pints?" - Peregrin Took

[@-oiiio-3993]

I've been told that elephants come in quarts.

[@Javaman92]

I thought of this as a challenge. History of Metrication? HOW could he make this interesting. Well, you did it. lol Amazing. I have to say I try to make the change in my head at times, but after 60+ years it's not been easy to change.

[@apexxxx10]

Javaman92 *How about US Medical Schools. They teach the future doctors to measure blood samples not in Millilitres but in FLUID OUNZE? I hope not! And medication in in ounces, or pounds or stones LBS ( Lot of Bull Shit). Only Milligram. Mg.Please ! Whether it is administered I.V. or I.M. “No fucking fluid ounce! Said the Orthopedic Resident”. Now, Fahrenheit. Helmut von FAHRENHEIT! You wanna measure my TEMPERATURE? You DO IT IN CELSIUS-CENTIGRADE! Because I don’t wanna DIE! 👍 we do have an understanding here? No Fucking Fahrenheit. And INTERNATIONAL TRADE in Stone and Pounds. (Lot of Bull Shit), again. They have to use Kg (Kilograms) or Metric Tons (one ton 1,000 Kg). Only METRICATION. Otherwise the INTERNATIONAL TRADE will stop immediately! No move containers movi . The containers moving! Tell you president Mr TRUMP, who is great fan of the METRIC system, to DUMP GALLONS, INCHES, OUNCES, STONES & POUNDS and MILES (not Miles Davis). Benefits MORE TRADE for USA (no MORE misunderstandings) And SCIENCE more future Nobel Prizes in PHYSICS and MEDICINE & PHYSIOLOGY for USA. Absolute “Win - Win” for USA and the rest of the WORLD. Tell you President to GO METRIC - “Inch x Inch” in brackets, parentheses first if it is so painful. I am counting on you guys! Bangkok-Johnnie CarSanook Media THAILAND*

[@charlesprice925]

History Guy: Your program, such as this one, would be perfect for radio syndication becasue it is just as effective without pictures. And you have the perfect voice for the medium, I won't say face.

[@boeingpilot7002]

When I was in L.A., during the 1970s, all of the gas stations changed their pumps to indicate the quantity purchased in liters. To help customers adapt, they posted signs at the pumps to show people how to convert liters to gallons (3.785 liters = 1 gallon). But, inevitably, people resisted the change and the pumps were quickly, and quietly, recalibrated back to gallons. At about the same time, car speedometers were made with a km/hr arc, inside of the mph arc...which we still have today.

[@puckzilla-bs9zy]

"because every great story involves pirates " you are the BEST

[@marbleman52]

I have read all of the comments and it has been a good discussion. The point I would like to make is that for people like me who grew up with our traditional measuring systems ( I'm 66 ), a lot of us just don't have a good mental image of what some of the metric measurements are. A lot of people have a mental image of what 1 mile is, but not 1 kilometer, what 1 yard is but not 1 meter, what 1 gallon is but not 1 litre. For myself, I have a good grasp of those examples because I have taken the time to learn them, but so many other people think that once they finish H.S. that there is nothing more to learn..LOL..!! And I think that this is why there is so much resistance to fully accept the change-over...un-familiarity. But...I was a machinist for most of my working career and I got very familiar with the decimal system for measuring stuff and I got to where I had a good mental image of those small measurements and how they related to each other...much easier and obviously much more accurate than trying to work with fractions ( which is just another way to write small numbers.) But...yea, this is confusing...I also use a standard measuring tape in my wood-working hobby but when I need to keep certain thicknesses exactly the same for proper fitting purposes, I reach for my calipers. So, I use both systems interchangeably. History Guy...You certainly have given us a lot to talk about with this video...thanks..!!

[@-oiiio-3993]

Actually, every time one uses a U.S. Cent or Dime, one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@marbleman52]

@@-oiiio-3993 I really enjoyed reading that; you certainly gave us your 2 cents worth...LOL..!! Only teasing. My Grandfather was a big coin collector way back in the 1930's, 40's, 50's. When I was a kid, he gave me a 1/2 cent piece. I have no idea what happened to it. I remember him showing us $20.00 gold pieces and his other really neat coins. He also had two of the very rare double-die 1955 pennies. But he kept a lot of his coins in the trunk of his car and someone found out and broke into it and stole these and other valuable coins.

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@marbleman52 Glad you liked / appreciated it! Sorry to hear about Grand Dad's coins. Mine didn't collect coins but I do have his Mannlicher Schoenauer M1910 Take Down Model (rifle) with fitted case. Here's another 'Two Cents worth': www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/category/two-cent-1864-1873/670

[@marbleman52]

@@-oiiio-3993 That is a pretty coin..!!

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@marbleman52 Here's a thread about _der Mannlicher Schoenauer._ www.africahunting.com/threads/mannlicher-schoenauer-1903.61746/

[@alfredpease4340]

I must say I truly love your videos a great deal. I'm just an old physicist. But I think, with great due respect, you missed a very fundamental point in this video about Standard Measure. That is that the metric system is the only system that relates mass and linear dimension in a fundamental way. A centimeter is 1/100 of meter, of course. But a "cube" of pure water, measuring 1 centimeter on its side has a mass of one gram. On liter of pure water (1000 cc) has a mass (weight on earth) of one kilogram, 1000 g. It is that relationship that makes that system so powerful. Very best

[@kellymckinley7242]

Love your channel! Best thing on utube (imo). I'm a licensed Civil Engineer and work for the Department of Transportation in Ca. Back in the 1990s, the Department "forced" a switch to the metric system. All contracts were to be engineered in metric. The orginal highway system was designed around the standard 12ft lane. Since 1ft is equal 0.3038m the metric lane became 3.6574 meters. This was rounded down to 3.6m on contract plans (0.2' less than the 12' width about 2% dif). Since contractors were tooled with equipment based in us imperial feet and could not afford to retool to the government mandate, the contractors were consistently over on quantities and we overran costs and had many construction claims. California gave up on the metric system in around 2003. So California has the distinction of requiring then abandoning the metric system! All hail the cubit!

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

As a Briton who grew up in the 1960s I think of warm days in degrees F and cold Days in degrees C and do Thermodynamics in degrees K. While I like the inch, foot, mile pound, pint and gallon as nice human sized untis the SI (metric) system of base and derived units is totally integrated. Look at it this way doing complex engineering or scientific calculation in old Imperial/US units is like an accountant trying to balance a set of accounts using Roman numerals

[@jamesoates1334]

As another Brit I derived great amusement from marking darts games in my local pub in Roman numbers in my twenties. As a seventy year old I doubt I could think on my feet fast enough.

[@julianneale6128]

As a Brit growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I was taught at school in both Imperial and metric. Strangely I now think in a mixed way regarding measurements but I like it. I spend an awful lot of time in the USA (half my family are American), and I'm happy to talk feet, yards, miles, temps in °F and weights in pounds, just as I do in Britain... However when I design things I generally revert to metric, as it's all to the decimal point. Scale something that's 147.3cm long by 10 and the equation in one's head is extremely easy however it's by no means as easy to convert 57 and some minute fraction of an inch...

[@5roundsrapid263]

Julian Neale Most Americans who do technical work are the same way. I know I am.

[@apexxxx10]

Julian Neale *How about US Medical Schools. They teach the future doctors to measure blood samples not in Millilitres but in FLUID OUNZE? I hope not! And medication in in ounces, or pounds or stones LBS ( Lot of Bull Shit). Only Milligram. Mg.Please ! Whether it is administered I.V. or I.M. “No fucking fluid ounce! Said the Orthopedic Resident”. Now, Fahrenheit. Helmut von FAHRENHEIT! You wanna measure my TEMPERATURE? You DO IT IN CELSIUS-CENTIGRADE! Because I don’t wanna DIE! 👍 we do have an understanding here? No Fucking Fahrenheit. And INTERNATIONAL TRADE in Stone and Pounds. (Lot of Bull Shit), again. They have to use Kg (Kilograms) or Metric Tons (one ton 1,000 Kg). Only METRICATION. Otherwise the INTERNATIONAL TRADE will stop immediately! No move containers movi . The containers moving! Tell you president Mr TRUMP, who is great fan of the METRIC system, to DUMP GALLONS, INCHES, OUNCES, STONES & POUNDS and MILES (not Miles Davis). Benefits MORE TRADE for USA (no MORE misunderstandings) And SCIENCE more future Nobel Prizes in PHYSICS and MEDICINE & PHYSIOLOGY for USA. Absolute “Win - Win” for USA and the rest of the WORLD. Tell you President to GO METRIC - “Inch x Inch” in brackets, parentheses first if it is so painful. I am counting on you guys! Bangkok-Johnnie CarSanook Media THAILAND*

[@johncgibson4720]

@@5roundsrapid263 Even amateur technical hobbies use grams. Just watch any drone reviewer youtube video. Everyone talks about FAA drone weight classes by grams and the thinkness of their carbon fiber racer frames by millimeter. USA units is a dual system, just like politics.

[@itz_premium]

I have just only stumbled upon your astounding channel!! Where have I been? Where have you been all my life! Currently bingewatching your content, great stuff History Guy! Dont let your fire dwindle!!

[@Rivercoon]

I worked for an RV manufacturer in California from 1983 until 2008. In the late '80s management announce we were going metric in two years and handed out conversion charts to everyone. We never heard a word on the subject again.

[@LV_CRAZY]

Insightful history again sir, though some of us know the American system as Moon Landing Units.

[@deryeti351]

You might re-check that with Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun.

[@LV_CRAZY]

Der Yeti And yet every aspect of the Apollo program was in inches, feet and miles. I'm not knocking the metric just remembering history that deserves to be remembered. Many thousands worked on the program and a fair amount where immigrants from across the globe and our standard of measures, though imperfect, worked. Back then our family was involved too.

[@5roundsrapid263]

Dwayne Morton Even the spacesuits were hand tailored to the nearest sixty-fourth of an inch.

[@k0vert]

I'm so glad I found your channel. Keep up the awesome stuff, my dude

[@showmoreavail]

Again I just love the fascinatingly boring you offer, it is brilliant

[@colinkamoda9502]

It always blows me away how modern ancient greece was. I know they didn't have technology, but they had standardized measurements, fire departments, fire hoses, central heating, and so many modern ideas.

[@grumpyvlogger]

Thanks for sharing this tidbit of History. Was glad to hear of an ancestor’s involvement in History. Thanks again for sharing.

[@kct1975]

One thing that everyone missed as one of the MAIN reasons the Metric Conversion of the `70's did not work was the US Road Speed Limits. In the `70's, for a brief period and lot of roads in the US has Speed Limit signs with both the Miles Per Hour and the Kilometers Per Hours. Where as 50 MPH is close to 80 KMPH there were a lot US drivers were driving 80 Miles Per Hour when they saw the 80 Kilometers Per Hour and then claiming that they were confused about the correct speed limit. Of course all of the speeding caused the number car accidents to drastically increase. So while the Speed Limit thing was not the only reason that President Carter and the US Government dropped the push for Metric Conversion, it was a very important contributing factor.

[@stephenpowstinger733]

Kevin Turner car speedometers made then had dual units also.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Kevin Turner This didn't seem to be much of a problem in Canada.

[@ShroomKeppie]

@thad ius You don't understand. Claiming confusion was the only possible way out of a ticket.

[@-oiiio-3993]

In the U.S., every time one uses a Cent or Dime one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@mikeycrabtree123]

Thank you so much! Your channel is both brilliantly informative and wonderfully entertaining!

[@briquetaverne]

I was at a WWI battle site in the Somme a dozen years back. I walked through a preserved area that still had the relics of the Great War strewn all about as they were in November of 1918. They were softly still rusting away; and the now time softened edged trenches were still there too, completely untouched. After the war was over, French officials in the 1920's designated the site as "protected" and then erected (in the 1920's) cast metal signs throughout the zone as to events and objectives that had occured at this site as well as regimental assignments and as national army positions (such as the Newfoundland dominion fusiliers). Everything was distanced in Mile measurements, nothing was in kilometers.

[@halonothing1]

Another amazing video. Though I'm partial to your war stores, especially from the World wars and the ones in which you explain morals and vaues anybody can take from them and apply to day to day life, I think all of your videos are great. I like that you've evened out the sound levels in the intro so it's not quite so loud anymore. Thanks for spending the time and resources to share your passion so we can also enjoy it. Cheers, friend.

[@chrislj2890]

I remember back in the '70s they started posting speed limits on the Interstate system in KPH also, but it didn't seem to last very long. I always wondered why.

[@Delgen1951]

It lasted 8 years, money was why it stopped

[@rif42]

@Chris LJ; In the progressive state of Arizona the Interstate 19 has road signs in km.

[@warreneckels4945]

My guess is that people saw a 90 kph sign and drove at 90 mph (about 60% faster).

[@nigratruo]

Wow, that was an exciting rendition of that crash, you did a good job dramatizing the landing.

[@Hollows1997]

Biggest problem of Beer being sold by the pint in Britain is that when you go to Europe you get 68 millilitres less beer than in a pint (568 millilitres) also on that note a single measure of spirit, for example vodka, is 25ml in Britain and is usually 40ml in Europe. Inevitably when the average Briton asks for a double measure they think they’re asking for 50ml but receive 80ml... it’s why we’re always hammered when we go abroad.

[@SkateboardRanch]

Excellent Video as always, everything can be interesting depending on the way you look at it!You seem to always find the good angle and interesting facts of a particular subject, but what really sets you appart is the rare ability to communicate so many facts while keeping the viewers interest. Your passion is contagious! Keep up the great work, i predict you will be one of the top youtube history channel very soon.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@GH-oi2jf]

You got to the crux of the matter at the end. We in the U. S. A. use American Customary Units first, because we are a practical people, and second, because we don’t like coercion. The European Union actually tried to force U. K. pubs to give up their pints, but backed off. Here, we don’t care if a beer is measured in fluid ounces or milliliters. It just doesn’t matter. The fact is that Americans are far better at using the metric system than Europeans are at using American Customary Units.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Every time one uses a U.S. Cent or Dime, one uses the metric system. The Coinage Act of 1792 established, among other things, a unique quasi - decimal system of United States coinage based on the Spanish Dollar, which enjoyed full legal tender status through 1857. The U.S. Dollar was divided decimally as Cent (.01), Dime (0.10) Dollar (1.0) and Eagle (10.). As the Spanish Dollar was divided into eight Reales, or 'bits', the U.S. Mint would include Half Dollar, Quarter Dollar, and Half Cent coins to accommodate ready exchange (One Real = twelve and a half cents). A Half Dime was also included, as were Half and Quarter Eagle. The coins originally specified and minted were: Gold - Eagle (10.), Half Eagle (05.) Quarter Eagle (2.5) Silver - Dollar (01) Subsidiary Silver - Half Dollar (.50), Quarter Dollar (.25), Dime (.10) Half Dime (.05) Copper - Cent (.01), Half Cent (.005). There was no provision for 'paper money' (currency). Pennies were British.

[@gregoryleewalker]

The current internationally accepted definition of a meter is the length light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458ths of a second. This was established in 1983 by international agreement. It also led to a new definition of the speed of light locked in at 299,792,458 meters per second or 186,282.3971 miles per second. I'm a science nerd. Keep'em comin'.

[@Strothy2]

As a German machinist, the imperial units are a pure nightmare for me, especially when a customer comes with something really old from the USA... rusted to pieces, and my job is to find out what the heck this once was, thanks to the internet that got rather easier the last few years :D

[@JorgeHernandez-vy9rh]

That happen very often on the SpaceX webcast, (using a popular example) they show numbers on metric scale and the host had to made the translation to miles.

[@rif42]

Did they use nautical miles or miles? There are always a huge confusion about what type of miles is used when referring to anything flying in USA. Most USArians do not even know there is a size difference.

[@flagmichael]

@ Jorge Hernandez: imagine how perplexed an alien intelligence would be that we would use a numbering system based on ten.

[@RalphReagan]

@@rif42 I'm always thinking nautical miles in space travel

[@johncgibson4720]

@@rif42 The most recent spaceX launches are all announced by kilometers, for altitude and speed and position. The elite companies dont care about peasant class americans or even the middle class. It is just them and all the money of the world.

[@FrenchmanontheRooftop]

As someone that has used both. Imperial is nice for some things but anything requiring precision and/or scaling up/down metric is hands down the better option.

[@soccerguy2433]

I particularly like F. It seems so much better suited to describe the range of temperatures the human body can ensure. Something just strange when I say 0 is cold but only 30 more degrees is it hot!

[@1pcfred]

As a tool and die maker that's made some incredibly precise instrumentation I question your reasoning. Perhaps you're unaware but in precision machining we do use the decimal inch. Ain't nobody running around with wooden rulers on the shop floor measuring things by the quarter of an inch. That's not how it works. Today we use digital calipers and get either inches or millimeters by the push of a button. Although if you do need to use a scale then metric kinda blows due to how it is graduated.

[@dominiquejeangille9254]

@@soccerguy2433 This sounds very human centric to me Nature and life all around us is Water centric. Below 0 it's freezing, risk of snow ice.. 100c Water is boiling, time to cook the pasta. Easy.

[@thonbrocket2512]

I'm a "site engineer" ( = construction surveyor) in the UK, old enough to have worked using both Imperial and metric. You know what really costs everybody a lot of money in construction? Mistakes. Cock-ups that have to be fixed, made by engineers (I've made a few in my time), carpenters, bricklayers, architects, everybody out there at some point. My experience is that you get far fewer mistakes using metric. There's an economic cost to hanging on to imperial.

[@allen_p]

Great video. I am utterly amazed at the shear depth and detail of his videos. Thank you.

[@jameskolan9195]

While Australia adopted the metric system (and it is ENFORCED in the public world), most Aussies have a fair sense of measurements in Imperial units. On the other end of the world, Americans generally have no sense of how tall they are, how much they weigh, or how fast they are traveling in metric units. I'm OK with that. And thinking back to the day when road signs included "kph" and baseball stadiums had meters in smaller print underneath the measure in feet, I don't miss that.

[@jameshorn270]

As an example, the US military buys vehicles with speedometers and odometers measured in mph and miles. Yet the places we use them most critically are in countries with the metric system, and the maps we use them with are metric.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Moreover, the vehicles will be built to metric standards.

[@jameshorn270]

I have been out of the military for nearly a decade, so I am not sure what is going on today. I can tell you that my equipment included a key feature which required a 3 mm hex key to install or remove. It was the only one in the set that we used, maybe once every three years. The trailer used US units, as did our generators. The item using the hex key was designed and fielded in the mid 70s. I would guess Air Force equipment, since it is widely used outside the US military, may be more advanced in moving toward the metric system. I also worked as a trainer for a defense contractor. The basic equipment was designed in the mid 50s but was upgraded several times and is still up to date. In my experience, my company suffered from unthinking arrogance and did almost nothing to meet the needs of the foreign customers. Today, we still use that equipment, but I would guess that we are already at a disadvantage because the customers have to buy US tool sets; Now that Trump is getting their backs up, that may no longer be an acceptable sacrifice. This would apply to much of our major equipment, such as M1 tanks, M2/M3 Bradleys, M109 howitzers and their M992 ammo vehicles, etc. Now that I think of it, we really need to re-equip the whole force or it may become increasingly isolated and hard to find spares for in combat zones.

[@crossleydd42]

In the UK, speedos are shewn in both mph and kph (the latter slightly smaller numbers) since most countries in Europe use the latter and travel to them makes this useful. Odometers are only miles. We still use mpg instead of the, to us, meaningless litres per 100 km (L/100 km) or kilometres per litre (km/L)!

[@alpham777]

We dont use the speedometer when in another country cause Murica. Joking aside is mostly true driving around non war zones you just drive like a civilized human and your fine in war zone who cares.

[@andykilo5167]

I love your work. This explanation of the Metric System is the most useful presentation (among many other excellent ones) that you have done.

[@recstoppauseplay]

It is fascinating how it will take generations to finally change to the metric system around the planet. I like the metric system (or SI), for it's ease and simplicity. Multiplying and dividing by 10 is easy. Still, while watching a show from England on bicycle technology and the world's growing embrace of that fabulous machine, the presenter mentioned his weight and his colleague's weight in 'stone.' Totally amazed, I thought 'weight by stone' had been in disuse since queen Victoria but apparently not. Also it seems horses are still measured in 'hands'. Changing people takes a long, long time, it's like being the 9th car when the light turns green and it seems to take eons before the person in front decides to move. I'm finding, living in Canada, that my hobbies in electronics and mechanics have me moving back and forth from metric to imperial all the time. Thankfully, electrical technology is more recent so all measurements are metric and are the same the world over but mechanics are older and I'm constantly back and forth between the two systems, like someone who owns an old Ford and a new Toyota. I recently rebuilt an old bicycle and it became a hybrid of the modern world. There are Robertson screws (Canadian). Philips screws (U.S.) and some old slotted screws (English). Necessary parts came from Canada, the U.S., England and Taiwan. I think we, who can work and think in both the metric and imperial systems are "bimetrical."

[@wrencher1998]

Gotta say I love metric as it’s measured in 10 places ie 10 mm= 1cm centimeter x100= 1 meter x 1000= 1 kilometer as kilometer means 1000 meters- bottom line is everything is divisible by 10

[@kirkc9643]

Yep...and 1 litre of water weighs 1kg, 1ml of water weighs a gram, 1000 litres of water is 1 cubic meter and it weighs 1 tonne. Baffling how any rational person can argue that the other mess is better.

[@wrencher1998]

Kirk Claybrook exactly right- metric deals with exacting measurements- I didn’t include fluids but you did thanks for doing so! It funny how cc and ml equate so would your prefer ml( metric) and cc or (US) ozs when getting a shot for say ANYTHING! 🤔 YUP gimme metric any day over uh US ounces 😱😂😜😜😂

[@flagmichael]

... and nothing is divisible by 3, or six or evenly by 4. It is a bad fit for the real world.

[@kratzikatz1]

@Peder Hansen Kelvin or Celsius?? 😕😉😈

[@vicbitter2142]

Another good tie in is 1 cubic metre of water is 1 tonne or 1000 kg

[@markholm7050]

I am a quantitative scientist, analytical chemist. I have been using the metric system for scientific work since ninth grade biology class in 1969. As I learned how to make more complex measurements and computations, I realized how useful strict adherence to metric units is. All of the derived metric units are related by the same constant, one. For instance, 1 joule of energy = 1 newton of force acting over 1 meter of distance = 1 coulomb of charge passing through 1 volt of potential = 1 watt of power applied for 1 second of time = 1 pascal of pressure applied to one square meter of area through 1 meter of distance. In my experience, Americans who complain most loudly about metric measurement are people who either rarely measure anything, or perhaps frequently measure things, but only use measurement in simple ways. People who make more complex measurements, particularly when they have to make complex calculations with those measurements, greatly appreciate that very many metric units convert so easily.

[@thalesnemo2841]

Mark Holm Hear,Hear! Now if students can learn to use a ruler and a scale correctly in the earlier grades more advanced topics would be easier to learn.

[@steliosarvanitis5606]

Non American Internet users have a name for the stubborness of usage of the us units, they call them "retarded units".:p

[@eia1957]

I teach 8th grade science and everything is taught in metric units. When my students refer to anything *not* metric, I challenge them to define the unit they are trying to use. As they inevitably fail, I trot out the Celsius thermometer, meter ruler, the liter beaker and the kilogram mass -- I ask, is it bigger or smaller than this? My attempt, sometimes lost to them, is to re-frame their thinking about units of measure.

[@markholm7050]

Elliott Alvarado Hi Elliot, I’m glad to know you are trying to get your students to open up to metric. It seems to me the difficulties in teaching metric revolve around a couple of rather different issues. Until people are doing more complex computations involving measurements of different physical properties, it is very hard for them to see the benefit of a harmonized system of units. If you only work with one sort of measurement at a time, say comparing a bunch of lengths or weights, feet are as good as meters and pounds are as good as kilograms. You have to do something like converting electrical power to mechanical power before the benefits of harmonization start to show. Perhaps school curricula have gotten past this, but unit conversion was a big pedagogical problem when I was a student. The very first “metric system” examples I was introduced to (same for my wife and other people my age) was unit conversion. How many kilograms is 35 pounds. If your car gets a fuel economy of 28 miles per gallon, how many kilometers per liter is that? While unit conversion is a necessary evil in a world that is not standardized, it is a deadly dull exercise, 100% guaranteed to put off students. It is also guaranteed to give them an incorrect impression that working in metric will always be more computationally oppressive than working in American customary units, exactly the opposite of reality. I suggest putting unit conversion off until after students are used to making and computing with metric measurements. As a laboratory chemist, most of my measurements were metric. I only had to do unit conversion when dealing with measurements from the unfortunately backward mechanical engineers and when my only source for data was old and expressed in odd units.

[@apexxxx10]

Mark Holm *How about US Medical Schools. They teach the future doctors to measure blood samples not in Millilitres but in FLUID OUNZE? I hope not! And medication in in ounces, or pounds or stones LBS ( Lot of Bull Shit). Only Milligram. Mg.Please ! Whether it is administered I.V. or I.M. “No fucking fluid ounce! Said the Orthopedic Resident”. Now, Fahrenheit. Helmut von FAHRENHEIT! You wanna measure my TEMPERATURE? You DO IT IN CELSIUS-CENTIGRADE! Because I don’t wanna DIE! 👍 we do have an understanding here? No Fucking Fahrenheit. And INTERNATIONAL TRADE in Stone and Pounds. (Lot of Bull Shit), again. They have to use Kg (Kilograms) or Metric Tons (one ton 1,000 Kg). Only METRICATION. Otherwise the INTERNATIONAL TRADE will stop immediately! No move containers movi . The containers moving! Tell you president Mr TRUMP, who is great fan of the METRIC system, to DUMP GALLONS, INCHES, OUNCES, STONES & POUNDS and MILES (not Miles Davis). Benefits MORE TRADE for USA (no MORE misunderstandings) And SCIENCE more future Nobel Prizes in PHYSICS and MEDICINE & PHYSIOLOGY for USA. Absolute “Win - Win” for USA and the rest of the WORLD. Tell you President to GO METRIC - “Inch x Inch” in brackets, parentheses first if it is so painful. I am counting on you guys! Bangkok-Johnnie CarSanook Media THAILAND*

[@tommycattap]

Herbert Hoover as Sec of Commerce, before he was president developed the American standard for screws, bolts, and more.

[@foreverfundone]

Thank you for your time and effort in making this video!

[@peterstickney7608]

A great video, as always. There is, perhaps, another factor which make Metrication in the U.S. (As far as public use goes - as you point out, the U.S. Customary System is defined in terms of SI (Metric) units. AS you noted, the original concept of Metric units was to exploit the perceived relationship between natural measurements - the diameter of the Earth, the acceleration of gravity at the Earth's surface, the density of fresh water, and so forth. Unfortunately, while those relationships seemed plausible in he late 18th Century, it turns out that in the real universe, they don't hold up. The Earth isn't spherical, gravity's acceleration isn't 10 m/sec/sec, and the Speed of Light in various media. (Although the Speed of Light then wasn't an issue so much then, it's a Big Deal now, fundamental to measurement systems, communication and Navigation.) What that all boils down to is that there isn't any real simplification (other than buying and selling stuff) in accomplishing highly technical work. You still end up chasing the values to the right of the Decimal Point, with equal inconvenience. (Yes, of course everybody working on something needs to use the same system.) As far as Nature is concerned, it's all "Ten and a big mark, and a couple of the little marks." as it were. Although, if measurement had been better in the 1700s, and the planet a bit more cooperative, it's a better than fair bet that the entire world would have been Metric almost immediately.

[@werewally3156]

Peter Stickney I like that

[@Jake12220]

Peter Stickney the earth isn't round, but the time taken for it to rotate once is easy to calculate, the speed of light in a vacuum is always constant and the units used to define weight all stem from the kilogram, the reference kilogram(used to be a litre of water at its freezing point, but updated to a standardised weight long ago) to which all others are defined is currently the roundest known object in the universe (seriously), the roundness is to limit surface area and it's made from platinum iridium allow to make it as stable as possible yet they plan to update this to an even more precise definition that uses a fixed number of atoms of a stable isotope to ensure it will always be an exactly fixed value. Compared to the definition of imperial units there is seriously no comparison whatsoever, imperial although acute enough for most things would essentially be a guestimation for some scientific feilds.

[@theprofessor3875]

Matt TheChosen The kilogram was "standardized." Therefore making the point that it is a made up, just as arbitrary measurement.

[@Jake12220]

The Professor all measurements were essentially "made up".

[@carlb4961]

There are also natural unit systems where constants such as the speed of light (c) are set to 1, which does have benefits in some situations.

[@viktord1]

I recently received my diploma in mechanical engineering from a university in Tennessee. From all the classes and exams that I ever had to take, the metric system was favored by all except the really old professors that were about to retire. I have volunteered to switch to metric in all my daily routines. Just today I reprogrammed the units in my car to read in Celsius, kilometers, L/100km, etc and I kind of felt liberated. Also I should add that there is a mistake in this video. A bushel of corn weighs different than a bushel of oats because the bushel is a measure of volume. It's for the same reason a L of honey would weigh more than a L of water.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

viktord1 l/100km to mpg and vice versa is the most fiddly of conversions because it also has an inversion.

[@Berkeloid0]

@@user-ky6vw5up9m I've never liked L/100km because it's not a clean unit-to-unit relation. I've seen km/L used here and there which I think is much nicer.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

I suspect that L/100km has a lot to with the influence of the German car industry and EU trading standards. BTW European car engines are are rated (as well as in kW) in the German Horsepower “PS” units which differs slightly from the traditional British and French Horsepowers. ). Congratulations on your Diploma.

[@robertromero8692]

Universities do emphasize the metric system, but in the real world of engineering in this country, there is still a heavy emphasis on the US system. When I was studying for the mechanical PE, almost all the problems were in US units. You will find this out for yourself.

[@bruceherford2250]

@@user-ky6vw5up9m - Also in Australia, The standard reference point for fuel consumption for automobiles and other forms of motor transport has been Litres/100 kilometres (L/100Km). It is a good rating that is easily understood because the lower the rate, the more economical the vehicle. A 'no brainer'. With the move toward electric vehicles (EV), the comparison rate is yet to be defined because people still like to try and compare to the old paradigm. How far can one travel on a single charge is so elastic because of too many variables (battery type, size, regenerative charging etc) to come up with a defined standard.

[@mauvegrail]

In Britain, when talking about the weather, people give temperatures above freezing in Fahrenheit and below freezing in Centigrade (you can tell I'm an old fart because I didn't use Celsius). One of the best anecdotes I have heard about standards and metrology is the story about why the standard railway (railroad) gauge is 4 feet 8 and a half inches. When railways were first being built in Britain, wheelwrights were commissioned to produce the axles and wheels. They used the distance between wheel ruts on the main Roman roads in the UK, which had been in use since Roman times. Because the roads were surfaced with stone, ruts developed and were 4' 8 1/2", because that was the width between the wheels on a Roman chariot. The wheels were spaced at this distance so that the hind hooves of the two horses pulling the chariot would not collide with the wheels. The width of a horse's hind quarters is approximately 2 feet, so the wheels had to be placed at least 4 feet apart (48 inches). Thus the standard railway gauge is based on how big a horse's ass is. So, if anyone says to you that standards are a horse's ass, you can say that at least one international standard is.

[@colingibson8018]

Mr History Guy. Thanks again for another fasinating episode, you and Mrs History Guy/Gal are the best. and​I for one am great full for the time and effort that goes into each episode .Thank you

[@Landwy1]

I was a metrologist (studier of measurements) for many years. I worked at higher level labs (only the USAF Wring-Patterson and Natl Bureau of Standards, now NIST were more precise and accurate) while I was in the USAF. BTW...the Air Force developed a metrology program and all services adopted the program with the USAF responsible for training. The Air Force realized after Jupiter missiles were exploding in the late 1950s because there wasn't a standards program to keep manufacturing to tight tolerances. Hence, metrology was developed. The most accurate measurement is time, which is based on the pulsing of the cesium 137 atom. All atomic clocks are calibrated against each other as a change (adjustment) can't be made to a fundamental atom. All of our GPS measurements are based on an atomic clock in each satellite. A USAF base in Colorado Springs make very slight adjustments to these satellites not by changing the atomic clock, but to a correction signal the GPS satellite also put out. Most of the adjustment is due to differences in orbital eccentricities of the GPS satellites. Your handheld GPS receiver receives an almanac published by the satellite acquired that corrects GPS the satellite constellation orbit as well as making clock corrections to account for the ionosphere. There is also a temperature and moisture correction that is now being used for GPS meteorology much like the data that comes from a balloon sounding. The history guy lives in Illinois where the Museum of Time is located, not far from the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Highly recommended. The stubbornness of America to join the metric system is causing a lot of money from overseas buyers to go elsewhere. Why buy an American tractor with imperial nuts and bolts when your hardware store say in South America won't stock a 3/16 bolt? Martin O'Malley had it right when running for president in 2016 that the U.S. needs to adopt the metric system.

[@weseld1]

No American tractor was built with imperial nuts and bolts because we were never on the BRITISH Imperial System, which was introduced to Britain after we gained our independence. The names of our Customary Units sound like the old British units but were not the same. Imperial gallons were roughly 25% larger than US gallons, which was rather important for people living near the US border.

[@glenncpw]

Being brought up in the imperial English measurement system, I never really appreciated the metric system until I cut threads on a metal a lathe - so very much easier.. ( I might add a metric lead screw lathe, as well)

[@davidgreen5099]

glenn whitchurch tell me why, please. Im curious.

[@aceroadholder2185]

My experience has been that cutting threads is easier on a lathe with an imperial lead screw..no matter if the threads are in imperial or metric (CNC machine tools don't count, you just let the machine's computer figure it out). Synchronizing the lathe's spindle to the lathe's lead screw is easy on a manual imperial lathe because imperial threads are multiples of two times the base starting thread (e.g. 2,4,8,16, 32 threads/inch or 3,6,12,24,48 threads/inch or5,10,20,40,80 threads/inch). This synchronizing has to be done because it takes multiple passes to generate the desired thread. The practical result is that a simple geared indicator engaged with the lead screw allows the multiple passes to be made without ever stopping the machine and having to reverse the spindle so as to "back-up" to the starting point . A metric lathe needs an indicator that has change gears in it to accommodate various metric leads. For many metric lathes "backing up" is the only way to generate a thread. Cutting metric threads on an imperial machine is easy. Since one inch is by definition exactly 25.4mm, 5 inches is exactly 127mm. If you calculate the gears needed to cut a metric thread, it turns out that a compound 127/120 tooth gear (or 127/60 etc.) gives an exact imperial to metric conversion ratio (some lathes use a gear train that gives a very close conversion that is satisfactory for all practical applications). You do have to back up the lathe between passes as the imperial thread indicator can't show when the spindle and lead screw are synchronized, though there are several "tricks" that can be used to synchronize the spindle and lead screw when cutting very long threads thus avoiding wasting time backing up the machine. My explanation probably isn't very good... but trust me..I have a degree in engineering!!

[@glenncpw]

The depth of a metric thread is the pitch of the thread - hence 1/2 the radius and you are done..

[@aceroadholder2185]

Not according to the ISO724/DIN13T1 standard: www.tribology-abc.com/calculators/metric-iso.htm The only simple relationship that I know of is in the Unified National thread system. If the external thread diameter is cut to the specified diameter for the nominal thread size, the flat on the top of the finished thread will be 1/8th the pitch. Using that fact, you can cut a UN thread very nearly to the correct size by eye, or a least close enough to only need one measurement to obtain the final correct pitch diameter. For me, the bottom line is that in the machine shop the inch vs. mm issue isn't a problem. If you say you need a piece of round material 12mm x 1ft long.. that's what you'll get. If you need a shaft with 12mm x 1.75mm thread on one end and 1/2"-20 UNF on the other end.. no worries. But you do see really peculiar stuff once in a while..e.g. early German Leica cameras used 39mm x 26 TPI threads for their lens mounts...go figure. Cheers.

[@karenjordan5731]

One of your best story telling episodes. This was great!

[@user-vm5ud4xw6n]

As always, excellent and interesting content! Each time I hear the History Guy I find myself liking history just a bit more. If I could go back and redo my class schedule in high school I would pick THG as my instructor. Don’t have a clue what my final grade was but I’m sure it would be better with Lance taking us back in time. Thanks again!!

[@mookiecookie44]

“Maysure”

[@davepratt9909]

When ever I thing we have it bad, I love going over to England, the land of just about any measurement system. Who else still uses "Stone" as a measurement of weight? I got directions in about 100 meters, it is a 25 kph zone, but after the town you can drive for 50 miles at a normal speed.

[@apexxxx10]

Dave Pratt *How about US Medical Schools. They teach the future doctors to measure blood samples not in Millilitres but in FLUID OUNZE? I hope not! And medication in in ounces, or pounds or stones LBS ( Lot of Bull Shit). Only Milligram. Mg.Please ! Whether it is administered I.V. or I.M. “No fucking fluid ounce! Said the Orthopedic Resident”. Now, Fahrenheit. Helmut von FAHRENHEIT! You wanna measure my TEMPERATURE? You DO IT IN CELSIUS-CENTIGRADE! Because I don’t wanna DIE! 👍 we do have an understanding here? No Fucking Fahrenheit. And INTERNATIONAL TRADE in Stone and Pounds. (Lot of Bull Shit), again. They have to use Kg (Kilograms) or Metric Tons (one ton 1,000 Kg). Only METRICATION. Otherwise the INTERNATIONAL TRADE will stop immediately! No move containers movi . The containers moving! Tell you president Mr TRUMP, who is great fan of the METRIC system, to DUMP GALLONS, INCHES, OUNCES, STONES & POUNDS and MILES (not Miles Davis). Benefits MORE TRADE for USA (no MORE misunderstandings) And SCIENCE more future Nobel Prizes in PHYSICS and MEDICINE & PHYSIOLOGY for USA. Absolute “Win - Win” for USA and the rest of the WORLD. Tell you President to GO METRIC - “Inch x Inch” in brackets, parentheses first if it is so painful. I am counting on you guys! Bangkok-Johnnie CarSanook Media THAILAND*

[@rif42]

@Dave Pratt; you forgot that petrol (not gasoline) is sold in litres, but the car's consumption is measured in miles per gallon, but the gallon is a different gallon than used in US.

[@billolgaau]

In aviation the International standard, short distances (Runways, visibility) is measured in Metres - Air Pressure in & Distance in Nautical Miles. (The ONLY miles that should be used). :o)

[@Berkeloid0]

Not to mention that they use both Celsius and Fahrenheit for temperature, depending on which one sounds more extreme (Fahrenheit has larger numbers when it's hot, Celsius goes negative sooner when it's cold).

[@-oiiio-3993]

@@apexxxx10 Ounce, not "ounze".

[@markjovanovic9110]

Lunchtime and history. My best part of my day. Thank you history guy.

[@bburg1776]

I love these videos. There is so much history most people dont know because things just are what they are and we dont think about the way they came about. Keep up the good videos.